Silo.



1.1. HOLMES SILO. A

APPLICATloN FILED man. 14. 1914.

l Lw., Patented Nw. 27,191?,

'UNllTElDl @TAE PATENT JAMES J'. HCLMES, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

SILO.

Application filed March 14, 1914.

To all whom t may concern.' Y

Be it known that l, JAMES J. HOLMES, a citizen of the United States,residing at Kansas City, in the county of Jackson and State of Missouri,have invented certain new and useful improvements in Silos, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to silos and has for its object to produce astructure of the character named which can be erected at a minimum costand possesses the desirable qualities of strength and durability.

A further object is to produce a silo in which the walls are secured inplace without the use of nails or other securing devices and are adaptedfor expansion and contraction in a vertical direction without openingany oints or seams through which rain can enter the silo or throughwhich seepage from the latter can take place.

With these general objects in view, the invention consists in certainnovel and peculiar features of construction and organization ashereinafter described and pointed out in the appended claim, and `inorder that it may be fully understood reference is to be had to theaccompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1, is a fragmentary plan view ofa silo embodying my invention;

Fig. 2, is an enlarged section on the line II-II of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3, is a fragmentary plan on a scale much greater than that of Figs.1 and 2;

Fig. el, is an elevation of the interior of the silo showing thearrangement of the doors thereof.

Fig. 5, is a vertical section on the line V V of Fig 4.

In the said drawings, 1 indicates a concrete or equivalent solid andsubstantial bed to provide settings for a series of posts, eachpreferably consisting of a central member 2, and two side members 3,secured to the central member by bolts el: and nuts 5, the inner edgesof the flanking members 3 being beveled to provide in conjunction witht-he adjacent sides of member 2, a pair of V-shaped grooves 6, the bevelof the inner edges of members 3, being determined by the number of postsemployed in the erection of the silo, which is adapted to be ofpolygonal form, though it may vary as regards the number of its sides.

To impart stability and strength to the posts, particularly if composedof members Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov.. 2"?, ldt.,

Serial No. 824,798.

as indicated as preferable, U-shaped clips 7 are fitted around the outeredges of said members and outer sides of the members i5, and thesecuring bolts 4 extend through said clips. The clips are provided without wardly projecting lugs S, as supports for horizontal clamping bands9 which encircle the silo and guard against outward springvw ing of theposts, and to cooperate with these bands a number of opposite posts maybe connected at their upper extremities by tierods, each consisting oftwo members 1U connected by a turn-buckle 11, the ends of the rodsextending through the central members of the posts and through thetopmost clips 7 and being engaged by clampingnuts l2 which bear againstthe outer faces of said clips.

The walls of the silo are double and constructed as follows: The outerlayer of boards 13 have their upper edges beveled downwardly andoutwardly at 14 and their lower edges formed with an obtuse angle shapedgroove 15, so that the groove of one board shall snugly receive thebeveled upper l edge of the immediately underlying board,

and the ends of all the boards are beveled so as to converge inward andform an angle corresponding to the angle formed by the sides of thegrooved faces of the posts, the boards being of such length as to fitsnugly in said grooves and yet be capable of movement in a verticalplane.

The inner part of the silo is composed of boards 16 of exactly the sameconstruction as those described except that they are slightly shorter toiit between the innermost portions of the central members of the postsand are arranged in reverse position, that is to say are arranged sothat their beveled upper edges shall slope downwardly and in wardly.Furthermore the boards forming the inner wall are arranged inbrealrnjoint relation to the boards forming the outer wall as shownclearly in Fig. 2, and to maire the walls air-tight to protect theensilage against freezing, an insulation 17 of building paper orequivalent material is arranged between the inner and outer walls asshown.

At one side the silo will be provided with a wall composed of door andwall sections alternately arranged, see Figs. l and 5. In said figureshorizontal boards 18, 19, and vertical boards 2O and 21 constitute doorframes adapted to be slipped down in the grooves 6 in the same mannerthat the Wall sections are secured and hinged in each frame is a door 22adapted to open inwardly and secured to each doorl are turnbuttons 23 tobe turned to lap the outside ofthe respective door frames and thussecure the door against accidental opening.

The manner of charging this silo With ensilage and removing the ensilagetherefrom is the same as that of any other silo, it being noted ashereinbefore suggested, that in wet weather the height of the walls ofthe silo may increase through expansion and sliding thereof in thegrooves of the posts, and that in dry weather contraction ,of the boardswill result in a reduction in the height of the walls, it being furthernoted that the tension of the tie rods can be varied by propermanipulation of the turn buckles 1l, and that the tension of the band 9can also be varied in the usual and Well known manner. lt will also benoted that the obtuse angle formation of the upper and lower edges ofthe boards not only ina-ke provision for shedding of moisture away fromthe walls, but makes each board without the use of nails or the like,support the boards above it Without any tendency to act as a wedge toforce the supported board outwardly midway between the posts and therebyfacilitate outward bowing thereof and the production of open joints.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that I have produced a siloembodying the features of advantage enumerated as desirable and which issusceptible of modification in minor particulars Without departing fromthe principle of construction involved.'

I claim: Y

A silo comprising a series of upright posts, each provided at its innercorners with a pair of acuteangle shaped grooves, walls connectingadjacent posts and composed of substantially horizontal boards fittedtogether edgewise in superposed relation, the ends of the boardsconforming to the angular shape of said grooves and fitting JAMES J.HoLMns.

Vitnesses:

H. C. RoDGnRs, G. Y. THORPE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

